Monday, October 26, 2009

Memoir Mondays... Everything Sucks by Hannah Friedman

"I wrote this book because it wasn't around for me to read it. It includes everything I wish I had known growing up but was too afraid to ask about."

Hannah Friedman is funny! Her tongue in cheek take on growing up female is simply wonderful. The chapters titles in her book, Everything SUCKS: Losing My Mind and Finding Myself in a High School Quest for Cool, tells us a little about what we're in for: Chapter One: Family Sucks, Chapter Two: Period Sucks, Chapter Five: Fitting In Sucks, Chapter Nine: Diets Suck, Chapter Eleven: Sex Sucks. It does seem like everything sucks, but I laughed too as I was reading because of Hannah's wry sense of humor sprinkled in heavy doses thru-out her story...

“By my senior year [in high school] I am the chair of the student body and disciplinary committee, coordinator of 3 community service programs, I have a 4.0 GPA, a millionaire boyfriend with a BMW, and finally, for the first time in my entire life, I am considered ‘cool.’ But when an article of mine about the college admissions process is published in Newsweek, everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve is pulled out from under me…and I resolve once and for all to stop allowing other people to define me.”

Hannah writes about it all... living on a tour bus, attending one of New York's most prestigious private schools, drug addiction and eating disorders, her first boyfriend, losing her virginity, and just trying to fit in... This is YA (Young Adult) fiction, but any of us girls can relate to Hannah's "adventures". You won't be able to help yourself from liking Hannah as you follow along... she's an insightful writer who knows how to put the pen to the paper, and you'll love her storytelling. Would you like to read a sample of Everything SUCKS? You can find an excerpt HERE. You can also find Hannah at her website hannahfriedman.com, where she plays a pretty mean guitar! And you can find a link there to that Newsweek article that put Hannah on the map.

There was an email from Hannah in my inbox, where she introduced herself and told me about her book, "Everything Sucks is a hilarious and brutally honest portrayal of teenage years- social angst, sexual identity, drug experimentation, eating disorders, depression, educational philosophies, Ivy League scandals, and love" It was all that and more! Thanks Hannah for sharing a little bit of yourself and the book with me! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

*P.S. Hannah also has a lot of cool YouTube videos, one of which is her book trailer, which you've got to watch! Here's the LINK! AND This Book is Kindle Ready!